Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
winners: steadfast Rays fans
We got tickets at the last minute to see Game 7 against the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series, and I've gotta tell you, it was the most exciting and nerve-wracking game I've even seen in any sport. Having blown a seven-run lead to lose Game 5, and then having lost Game 6, and then letting the Red Sox load the bases in the top of the eighth inning, the Rays looked like they were history. But no! They came back to win Game 7, rewarding fans at the Trop who stood for most of the game, ringing cowbells, blowing horns, and making one helluva racket.
Of course they would. Rays fans have learned to expect the unexpected. Now they are down three games to one in the World Series, going against Philadelphia tonight for the remainder of a game that was suspended when the puddles on the field threatened to become ice slicks. The Phillies took an early lead, of course. Facing one of the toughest pitchers in MLB, the Rays' batting order came alive, tying the game at two all. How bad were the Rays' batters? Pena and Longoria were hitless in the World Series until Monday night. Pena got a hit; Longoria drove him in. Upton got a hit; Pena drove him in. Score tied. Game suspended on account of rain (first time in World Series history).
If you don't watch baseball, you are missing high drama. Watch tonight. If the Rays bring the series back to the Trop, it will be a totally fitting end to the Rays' season if Game 7 is played on Halloween night inside a dome that ought to be painted orange.
Of course they would. Rays fans have learned to expect the unexpected. Now they are down three games to one in the World Series, going against Philadelphia tonight for the remainder of a game that was suspended when the puddles on the field threatened to become ice slicks. The Phillies took an early lead, of course. Facing one of the toughest pitchers in MLB, the Rays' batting order came alive, tying the game at two all. How bad were the Rays' batters? Pena and Longoria were hitless in the World Series until Monday night. Pena got a hit; Longoria drove him in. Upton got a hit; Pena drove him in. Score tied. Game suspended on account of rain (first time in World Series history).
If you don't watch baseball, you are missing high drama. Watch tonight. If the Rays bring the series back to the Trop, it will be a totally fitting end to the Rays' season if Game 7 is played on Halloween night inside a dome that ought to be painted orange.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
losers: fickle Fenway fans
Tonight, with the Rays ahead of the Red Sox 7 - 0 in the top of the 7th inning, we were treated to the sorry spectacle of "fans" leaving Fenway. I was shouting at the TV set: "The Red Sox are only down by seven! They can do this!"
They did it, all right, winning 8 - 7 in the bottom of the ninth. Aaargh!
I can say two things: (1) I like and respect the Sox too much to see them lose the way they were losing, and I'm glad they did it. (2) I hope the "fans" who bailed out early are still kicking themselves in the rear for missing one of the most exciting comebacks in baseball history. Never, ever, leave a game early unless you are pregnant and your labor pains have started.
Next game: Saturday, the 18th, in St. Petersburg (not in Tampa, as the announcers said). They will be back in the much-maligned Trop, where the Rays have done well, and I'm still predicting the Rays will be the next AL champions.
They did it, all right, winning 8 - 7 in the bottom of the ninth. Aaargh!
I can say two things: (1) I like and respect the Sox too much to see them lose the way they were losing, and I'm glad they did it. (2) I hope the "fans" who bailed out early are still kicking themselves in the rear for missing one of the most exciting comebacks in baseball history. Never, ever, leave a game early unless you are pregnant and your labor pains have started.
Next game: Saturday, the 18th, in St. Petersburg (not in Tampa, as the announcers said). They will be back in the much-maligned Trop, where the Rays have done well, and I'm still predicting the Rays will be the next AL champions.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
what Mr. McCain can learn from Mr. Sears and Mr. Roebuck
When I was in college, I spent two summers working at the Sears store in Clearwater. I was on the "flying squad," filling in when people went on their vacation . . . two weeks in sporting goods, two weeks in building materials, two weeks in shoes, and so on, everywhere but ladies' clothing and the sewing machine department.
One of the department managers gave me an important lesson in salesmanship, which is, "Don't knock the competition. You won't sell anything by saying how bad the other guy's products are." If a customer is in Sears, holding a shirt, you won't sell it by saying how terrible Montgomery Ward shirts are. The customer may just walk out, empty-handed, and check out the shirts at Penney's instead.
Sears products are in three grades - Good, Better, and Best. The good products are perfectly good, for the money. For a few dollars more you can get a better one, and for a few more dollars, the best one.
I wish Senator McCain would learn the lesson I learned from the Sears department manager. There were reasons why I might have wanted to vote for him, months ago, but I've forgotten what they were. All I've heard lately is how bad the competition is. Unfortunately, we don't get to go to Penney's for a third choice. The other choice is Senator Obama, and he is looking better the more McCain tries to slime him. McCain should merchandise himself like Sears, by saying Obama is good but I'm better. Instead, we see him with this smirk on his face. Senator McCain, a smirk does not become you. It makes you look like a man with an intestinal disorder.
I am particularly tired of this silly nonsense about the 1960's radical, William Ayers. Young people may be unaware of this, but there were a lot of people in the 1960's who thought they were radicals or wished they could be radicals. We each had a different definition of what a "radical" was. The revolution we predicted failed before it started. We got our hair cut, we got jobs and families and mortgages, and now we are looking at AARP membership application forms, asking ourselves where the old guy we see in the mirror came from.
Not everybody wanted to be a radical; some became Republicans. In college, at places like USC and the U. of Florida, they became student politicians. There they learned the tactics of campaign dirty tricks called (please pardon my French) ratfucking, which they put to good use when they went to work for the Nixon campaign.
It seems clear to me that ratfucking is alive and well among the supporters of the McCain campaign, judging from the number of emails I get from people trying to tell me how bad Obama is. Try this: Go to Snopes.com and search for "Obama." You will be amazed at the lies being told about the man. I am deleting these emails as fast as they come in. They will not change my mind. My doctor told me something the other day I've never heard before, which is that I have high blood pressure. She gave me three months to bring it down, or she will prescribe pills. To combat high blood pressure I am tuning out the presidential campaign. For the rest of this month, all I will care about is whether the Rays can win the American League pennant and then win the World Series. Doctor's orders.
One of the department managers gave me an important lesson in salesmanship, which is, "Don't knock the competition. You won't sell anything by saying how bad the other guy's products are." If a customer is in Sears, holding a shirt, you won't sell it by saying how terrible Montgomery Ward shirts are. The customer may just walk out, empty-handed, and check out the shirts at Penney's instead.
Sears products are in three grades - Good, Better, and Best. The good products are perfectly good, for the money. For a few dollars more you can get a better one, and for a few more dollars, the best one.
I wish Senator McCain would learn the lesson I learned from the Sears department manager. There were reasons why I might have wanted to vote for him, months ago, but I've forgotten what they were. All I've heard lately is how bad the competition is. Unfortunately, we don't get to go to Penney's for a third choice. The other choice is Senator Obama, and he is looking better the more McCain tries to slime him. McCain should merchandise himself like Sears, by saying Obama is good but I'm better. Instead, we see him with this smirk on his face. Senator McCain, a smirk does not become you. It makes you look like a man with an intestinal disorder.
I am particularly tired of this silly nonsense about the 1960's radical, William Ayers. Young people may be unaware of this, but there were a lot of people in the 1960's who thought they were radicals or wished they could be radicals. We each had a different definition of what a "radical" was. The revolution we predicted failed before it started. We got our hair cut, we got jobs and families and mortgages, and now we are looking at AARP membership application forms, asking ourselves where the old guy we see in the mirror came from.
Not everybody wanted to be a radical; some became Republicans. In college, at places like USC and the U. of Florida, they became student politicians. There they learned the tactics of campaign dirty tricks called (please pardon my French) ratfucking, which they put to good use when they went to work for the Nixon campaign.
It seems clear to me that ratfucking is alive and well among the supporters of the McCain campaign, judging from the number of emails I get from people trying to tell me how bad Obama is. Try this: Go to Snopes.com and search for "Obama." You will be amazed at the lies being told about the man. I am deleting these emails as fast as they come in. They will not change my mind. My doctor told me something the other day I've never heard before, which is that I have high blood pressure. She gave me three months to bring it down, or she will prescribe pills. To combat high blood pressure I am tuning out the presidential campaign. For the rest of this month, all I will care about is whether the Rays can win the American League pennant and then win the World Series. Doctor's orders.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Green Monstah subdued
If you've been inside Fenway Park, you may admire but don't really appreciate the size of the Green Monster until you see it from the players' perspective. (Note the size of the left fielder.) In Game 3, B.J. Upton drives the ball over the wall, heading for the Charles River. Five innings later, Rocco Baldelli bounced one off of the Sports Authority sign. (Photo credit: Brian Cassella, St. Petersburg Times)
Friday, October 10, 2008
Rays - Red Sox tonight
Even if you don't watch baseball all year, you've gotta watch the Red Sox playing the Rays here in St. Petersburg, beginning tonight. I believe this will be, for all practical purposes, the World Series because only the Red Sox can keep the Rays from going all the way.
how to lie with statistics
One of the most valuable books I've ever read was "How to Lie with Statistics," by Darrell Huff. His main point is that statistics don't lie, if the numbers are accurate to begin with, but they can be used to distort reality.
Consider this chart, which depicts yesterday's drop in the Dow Jones Industrials average. You might think the Dow dropped to near zero. This is a perfect example of what Huff calls a "gee whiz graph," because the Y-axis (the vertical axis) does not start at zero. It starts at 8,500 and goes to 9,500 (or maybe less), which exaggerates the graph line tremendously. The Dow fell big-time yesterday, but it did not go all the way to the bottom. It fell 7.33 percent. (This is a very common graph, such as you will find in virtually every publication with news of the stock market. There's no intent to mislead or deceive, but it definitely produces a "gee whiz" reaction.)
Now, if you have faith in this country and faith in the innate ability of Americans to overcome adversity, you ought to agree that this is not time to press the panic button. What goes down will go up, maybe not quickly and possibly not all the way back to the top, but the stock market will not form a crater upon impact with the bottom.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Evan Longoria
If there's one player who represents the new face of the Rays this year, it is Evan Longoria, who made it to the All Star team and who hit two home runs in the opening game of the American League division playoffs. This photo was taken on September 19, when the Twins were in town.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
keeping priorities straight
After the Rays won their very first post-season playoff game this afternoon, I had a choice: The Cubs were playing the Dodgers, the University of South Florida Bulls were playing Pitt, and Joe Biden was "debating" a woman who looked, and sounded, like she was reading speeches from a Teleprompter. Gee, what should I do?
(I put "debating" in quote marks because these "debates" are not debates. I took the debate course in high school and I've been a judge at debate contests among law students. Those were debates.)
I promised not to watch the "debate" but the Cubs were losing and so were the Bulls, so I switched to the "debate" in hopes that I'd miss a dramatic comeback while I was gone. No such luck. Instead, I watched Sarah Palin give one of those performances that only a practiced politician can put on, which is to recite short speeches from memory while smiling constantly and giving the thousand-yard stare as if reading a script posted on the back wall of the auditorium. If a spontaneous, original thought came out of her mouth, I missed it.
George W. Bush has 108 days left in office but for all practical purposes he has left the building. The meltdown of banks, lenders and Wall Street forced him to come out into the sunlight to give a short rah-rah speech and then hustle back into the White House without taking any questions. He needn't have bothered. In fact, he could spend the next 108 days in the White House, watching movies and sending out for pizza, and nobody would notice or care.
That brings me back to the point I wanted to make, which is that the thought of Sarah Palin being a heartbeat away from the Presidency gives me the heebie-jeebies. Baseball has been my escape hatch all summer. What I considered to be the grand rhetoric of the nominating conventions has become the irritating pestilence of the 15-second sound bite, which is all the average journalist knows how to deal with. I know who I'm going to vote for, but that's in November. Between now and then we have the glorious month of October, in which division playoffs, league playoffs, and the World Series will all be played. The Cubs will have to come from behind a two-game loss to stay in competition but the Rays are going to go all the way.
(I put "debating" in quote marks because these "debates" are not debates. I took the debate course in high school and I've been a judge at debate contests among law students. Those were debates.)
I promised not to watch the "debate" but the Cubs were losing and so were the Bulls, so I switched to the "debate" in hopes that I'd miss a dramatic comeback while I was gone. No such luck. Instead, I watched Sarah Palin give one of those performances that only a practiced politician can put on, which is to recite short speeches from memory while smiling constantly and giving the thousand-yard stare as if reading a script posted on the back wall of the auditorium. If a spontaneous, original thought came out of her mouth, I missed it.
George W. Bush has 108 days left in office but for all practical purposes he has left the building. The meltdown of banks, lenders and Wall Street forced him to come out into the sunlight to give a short rah-rah speech and then hustle back into the White House without taking any questions. He needn't have bothered. In fact, he could spend the next 108 days in the White House, watching movies and sending out for pizza, and nobody would notice or care.
That brings me back to the point I wanted to make, which is that the thought of Sarah Palin being a heartbeat away from the Presidency gives me the heebie-jeebies. Baseball has been my escape hatch all summer. What I considered to be the grand rhetoric of the nominating conventions has become the irritating pestilence of the 15-second sound bite, which is all the average journalist knows how to deal with. I know who I'm going to vote for, but that's in November. Between now and then we have the glorious month of October, in which division playoffs, league playoffs, and the World Series will all be played. The Cubs will have to come from behind a two-game loss to stay in competition but the Rays are going to go all the way.
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